Picking Battles
by nannygirl
Summary: In "The Acid Queen" Kitty advises Jackie about 'picking battles' and both Kitty and Jackie end up sending Red and Hyde out to buy some magazines. When Red and Hyde end up meeting at the drugstore, Red has some of his own relationship advice to pass on to Hyde.
_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing. I do not own That '70s Show or any of its characters. I do not own any of the magazines or candies that are mentioned in this story. I do not own any other songs, characters, TV show or movies that may appear in this story. I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you a little oneshot I've been working on. It takes place during the episode 'Acid Queen' from season 6 when Hyde admits that he thinks Brooke is hot and Jackie wants him to lie to her about it while Kitty teaches Jackie about picking battles. In this episode we see some RK and JH scenes set up to show their similarities and I love that but I always felt like the ending to their story line was kinda rushed…probably to focus on Kelso and Brooke's. But anyways I decided to try my hand at adding a little more to it. One quick thing if you watch the episode you might notice that it looks like Kitty is already reading her Ladies' Home Journal when Jackie sends Hyde out, but lets pretend its another magazine or an older magazine for the purpose of this story. Thanks! Also thank you for stopping by to read this story, I hope you like it! Please don't forget to review if you can, I'd really love to hear your thoughts :D Thank you again to wonderful readers who continue to support my writing, it really means so much! Thanks for stopping by to read, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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 **Picking Battles**

 _Ring!_ The little gold bell that hung over the doorway chimed as Steven Hyde stepped into the drugstore.

He looked around the place; it was pretty empty for a Saturday afternoon but Hyde still had no desire to stay around for long. This was a get in, get out sort of mission. He was just going to go in, grab what he'd been sent for, and then head back over to The Formans—hoping he made it back before his ice cream melted completely or was found and eaten by Fez.

Spotting the magazine rack, Hyde walked over to it but instead of going to the section of the shelf that held his favorite readings of _Mad Magazine_ and the like, he found himself in the section that held _TigerBeat_ , _Seventeen_ , and ' _Teen_. It was a section he normally wouldn't go near with a ten-foot pole…unless he'd been sent to do so by his girlfriend.

Beneath his shades Hyde's eyes scanned over the bright color magazine titles until he at last found the one he'd been asked to buy.

Hyde grabbed the last remaining _Vogue_ magazine and frowned the moment it was in his grasp. The thing was huge and heavy. A box full of this magazine probably weighed more than Forman. And because it was the biggest magazine on the shelf, it was also the most expensive. Not that Hyde was too surprised about that, after all, the magazine was for Jackie.

The longer he looked at this encyclopedia sized magazine, the more Hyde became curious about what Jackie found so appealing about it. He flipped it open and began to thumb through the pages. Most of the pages turned out to be ads for things no one needed—most likely put there by the government.

Being so wrapped up in the latest issue of _Vogue_ , Hyde never noticed the figure coming up behind him.

"Checking to make sure none of those damn t-shirts of yours clash with the new Fall fashions?"

He jumped but just barely; Hyde would have been more startled if he hadn't recognized the voice of his best friend's father, but that would be hard to do; he grew up hearing the older man's voice more than his own father's. Turning around, Hyde was more curious than surprised to see Red Forman spending his Saturday at the magazine stand in the town's drugstore.

"Nah, man, busted one of the legs on my dresser. Figured putting this block underneath would be cheaper than buying a new one," Hyde was swift in coming up with a cover story that explained why he was out buying this big fashion book, then he spotted the magazine in Red's hand. "What about you?"

Noticing the way Hyde was craning his neck to try to see the cover of his own magazine, Red pulled the issue closer towards his chest, keeping Hyde from reading the magazine's name.

"Just getting some new reading material," Red spoke slow and careful as if not to cause suspicion before looking at the shelf and browsing over the other available publications. "Gotta keep myself updated on all the crap happening across the country."

"Yeah. Heard that new _Ladies' Home Journal_ is a real page turner," Hyde commented with a smirk.

Red met the smirk with a scowl, "Shut it. Kitty sent me out for this."

A slight frown indented itself onto Hyde's forehead as realized the reason Red was at the drugstore was similar to his reason for being there too. The real reason, not the cop-out wobbly dresser reason.

"Jackie sent me out to get this for her," he waved the magazine enough to signal that it was what he was referring to. His frown deepened when he thought back to the scene he'd left behind in The Forman. "Thought they were acting strange 'fore I left."

This new information had Red intrigued and his chin pointed upwards.

"You know, now that you mention it, the two of them were together in the kitchen when I left too," he shared and then began to piece together the pieces of his and Hyde's stories. Slowly his chin lowered back into place, allowing his stone-face expression to be better seen. There was only one conclusion he could come to. "They're working in cahoots."

Feeling like the men Red must have fought in Korea with, Hyde looked to the older man for guidance on what to do now. This was not a situation to be taken lightly.

With his eyes staring past Hyde, Red spoke gravely, "The only thing worse than having one woman mad at you is having two women mad at you for the same reason."

"Right," the curly haired teenager agreed.

The two men headed over to the next aisle that held junk food of candy, chips, and the like. They each searched for the sweet treat that would go over best with the women in their lives, Red sticking to the classic chocolates while Hyde looked at the fruity flavored candies like gummy bears and _Life Savers_ , if Jackie didn't want to eat it at least she'd appreciate their rainbow colors.

"So, what'd you do?" Red asked, his eyes shifting from the box of _Oh_ , _Henry!_ Bars to the _Baby Ruths_.

Hyde didn't even bother questioning why it should be assumed that he was the one to blame. It was pretty unlikely that it was Red who had done something that had upset Mrs. Forman and Jackie and caused Hyde and Red to spend their weekend in the drugstore; it was something Hyde had done to upset both Jackie and Mrs. Forman.

And Hyde had a pretty good idea of what that something was.

He sighed and dropped the gold gummy bear bag back with the others, "More like what I didn't is what upset them."

Red frowned at his adopted son, confused by his words until he recalled the scene that had taken place in the living room with him and Kitty and Steven and The Loud One.

"Still not lying to your girlfriend, huh?" there was some amusement in Red's voice when he asked the question.

"What, you're gonna tell me I'm wrong for not wanting to lie to her?" Hyde was defensive but he was also frustrated.

Why was everyone telling him to lie to Jackie? Sure, it would be a white lie, a 'good lie' but it would still be a lie. Weren't relationships built on honesty? Hyde had always thought so. But now the two people who had set bar for what a healthy and respectable relationship should be like had both advised him to lie to Jackie. This was why Hyde stayed out of being in a relationship, they too complicated for him.

At first Red was a bit shocked by the aggressive tone Hyde had spoken in but he respected it, realizing it meant not lying to his girlfriend was important to him—of course, that didn't mean he was going to let the teenager get away with talking to him in that kind of tone.

"No, but I am gonna call you a dumbass," came Red's even reply. He paused briefly then continued, "You're a dumbass. And you're wrong."

Hyde was at a loss. He was the only one advocating for not lying and yet he was in the wrong. He just didn't get it. Why did Jackie want him to lie to her? Why was it so important that he lied to her? Was it that important that it had gotten his adopted parents involved?

Thinking back to the last attempt Jackie had made to get him to lie to her, Hyde recalled how Mrs. Forman had been in the room too, flipping through a magazine and singing some weird tune.

His brows scrunched together, Hyde looked over at Red before sharing the memory. "Mrs. Forman was saying, singing, something about picking battles…Still not sure if she was talkin' to me or Jackie."

"Oh she was talking to Jackie," replied a fully knowing Red, he didn't even have to think about it; he already knew what his wife's intentions had been. "What'd she do after Kitty said this?"

"Nothing. Kinda dropped the whole Brooke conversation and sent me out for this doorstopper," he lifted the heavy magazine.

Red nodded at what he was hearing, "Well, son, that means your girlfriend didn't pick this battle. She's letting it go."

"So we're not gonna have to fight about it anymore?" Hyde's frown became replaced by an elated smirk, "That's pretty cool."

There wasn't much amusement on Red's face though and he was looking at the young man like he was a dumbass. And in Red's eyes, he was just that. Hyde thought the argument was over and he was in the clear but Red had been down this path with Kitty many times before and he knew that the fight was not over. There were still things to be taken into consideration.

"Yeah, it's cool alright," he agreed, his tone not doing the same, "until she decides to pick the next battle and her anger from this last one gets let out after being held in for so long."

Hyde's smile quickly drooped, "Oh."

"Yeah, _oh_ ," Red mocked before a deep scowl started to wrinkle itself onto his forehead and an accusing index finger pointed straight at Hyde. "You know, I'm starting to think you're the whole reason Kitty sent me out here to get this damn ladies' magazine and leave behind a freshly popped, frosty, can of beer."

Eyebrows rose at hearing this comment, "You left behind a beer? All I left was some ice cream."

The older man didn't care for the surprised reaction he got nor did he like the attitude his adopted son seemed to have about leaving behind a beer.

"Let me tell you something, Steven, wife trumps beer any day of the week."

An unconvinced sort of look was the response Red got to his words; it was as if Hyde were asking him 'Seriously?' But instead of getting upset or explaining it, Red merely smirked smugly and shrugged lightly as if silently saying, 'One day you'll understand.' Shaking his head, Hyde brought an end to their silent conversation by speaking again.

"Listen, Red, I'm sorry about your beer but I'm not sorry about not lying to Jackie, alright?" he was keeping his stance on not lying to her, then sighed when he realized the only way he'd get anyone to understand where he was coming from was to share his reasons. At least it was Red and not one of the guys—he really wasn't in the mood to be frogging anyone. "She's been lied to all her life, her parents, her fake cheerleader friends, Kelso…I don't wanna be added to that list of people."

"You'd rather be added to the list of people that make her mad?" was Red's remark.

"Long as I don't gotta lie to her," Hyde answered after giving a small shoulder shrug. "'Sides it's not like I wanna make her mad. She's blowin' it all outta proportion. Yeah, I think Brooke's hot, I think other chicks are hot too. But that doesn't mean I wanna be with any of 'em. I like being with Jackie. Right now…she's the only hot chick that I wanna be with."

"Did you try telling her this?"

"Nah, man. Jackie's been too busy trying to trick and trap in into lying to her to listen to anything I've gotta say."

"Alright, son, since you didn't want my advice on lying, I'm gonna give you another piece of advice," Red's right hand grasped Hyde's left shoulder and the older man cleared his throat before passing on the piece of wisdom he had to offer. "You know how women say that men only hear what they wanna hear?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, women are like that too," explained Red, his pointer finger waving in the air as he went on. "Only, they wanna hear, what they wanna hear. And they won't stop nagging you until they hear what they want to hear.

Hyde frowned, Jackie—for some reason—wanted to hear him lie to her. "You saying I gotta lie to Jackie?"

"I'm saying, what you just said about wanting to be with Jackie, that might be something she wants to hear," Red gave the teenager a knowing look as he removed his hand. "Think it might even be something she should hear."

"Yeah, okay," Hyde nodded, he understood not just what Red was saying but what he had to do to end this battle with Jackie. He looked back at the father figure beside him, "Thanks, Red. You know, I'm still pretty new to this whole relationship thing and figuring out how things work and all…Do we ever get to pick battles?"

A loud, hearty chuckle escaped Red's lips as he slapped Hyde's back and directed them both towards the checkout counter. "You've got a lot to learn, son."

0o0o0o

"Well, there are our big strong magazine getting men!" greeted Kitty as both Hyde and Red walked into the kitchen, holding a ladies' magazine in their hands.

The men walked over to their better half, Hyde stepped closer to Jackie who was seated at the kitchen table and Red joined Kitty over by where she stood behind the stove.

As he made his was to his wife, Red gave her a knowing look, "We figured out what you're up to, Kitty."

"Me?" she asked looking up at her husband with forged surprise.

Red shook his head, trying to keep his smile from becoming visible, and decided not to say anything about the innocent act his wife was putting on; he handed her the magazine instead, "Here's your _Ladies' Home Journal_."

She beamed up at him, taking the magazine, "Thank you, honey. Oh now…what is this?" she asked when she felt something odd hidden inside the pages of her book; she flipped it open and found a brown rectangle inside. "Oh a _Hershey's_ chocolate bar, that is so sweet. In both ways!" Kitty laughed and hugged her magazine and candy close to her chest.

Watching her, Red's own smile grew. It always made him happy to see Kitty happy but more so when he knew he had some part in her happiness.

"And I have something for you too," she suddenly announced.

This wasn't something he was expecting and Red found himself rather curious, "Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh," nodded Kitty. "It's a nice fresh cold beer!"

Kitty then moved away from the stove to reveal the beer she had poured for her husband when she and Jackie heard the cars pull up in the driveway.

It was a beer just like the one Red had left behind to fetch Kitty her magazine, only this beer was even better and Red stared at it in awe. "Is that a frosted mug?"

"That's right, so now your beer is _extra_ frosty," she told him, making his smile grow.

He leaned down and kissed the top of his giggling wife's head, "Thanks, sweetheart."

"Here's your _Vogue_ magazine, Jackie," Hyde said as he delivered the magazine he'd picked up to his girlfriend.

"Thank you, Steven," Jackie happily replied and quickly began to flip through it in search of a candy like the one Mrs. Forman had found. She didn't find any candies but she did find something just as sweet. "Oh and you didn't draw any facial hair on any of the girls in the pictures. Thank you."

With a sheepish smile, Hyde shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh and I have something for you too," Jackie practically bounced out of her seat and over to the breakfast bar. "Since you gave up your snack to get my magazine…ta-da!"

Like a showcase model revealing the prize of a brand new car, she lifted off the dishtowel she had covered the item with and revealed to Hyde his own treat—a beer, similar to Red's in a glass frosted mug.

Hyde was impressed by the beer, he really was, but frowned at it slightly before looking up at Jackie.

"I was having ice cream when I left, not beer."

Jackie nodded, "I know, but I thought you'd enjoy a beer more."

"You ate my ice cream, didn't you," his words were more a statement than a question because he already knew the answer.

"Yes," Jackie admitted with slumped shoulder before trying to defend herself. "And I was gonna get you some more but then Fez ate it and there wasn't any more left. Sorry."

Looking at her cute little pouty face, Hyde smirked back at her. "Nah, it's cool. The beer's cool. Thanks, Jackie."

The words and her boyfriend's own smirk made Jackie's smile spring back into place.

Red, alongside his wife, had been watching the younger couple and decided that it might be time to give them some privacy. They had helped them as much they could with this situation, it would be up to Jackie and Hyde to put The Formans' advice into action.

"Come on, Kitty. Let's go into the living room," Red directed one hand holding his frosty beer mug and the other placed against the small of Kitty's back. "I'll drink my beer and you can read me some of the articles from your magazine."

"Oh Red," Kitty giggled as she allowed him to lead her out of the kitchen.

It wasn't often that the older man cleared out of a room in his own home to give other people privacy, he would usually just kick them out, so Hyde was thankful to Red for doing it now. Hyde was also aware of why Red had gotten himself and Mrs. Forman out of the room now, to give him a chance to talk to Jackie. It was a chance he was going to take.

"Jackie, let's sit down," he said already settling himself into his usual seat at the kitchen table.

Jackie frowned just a bit, "Don't you want your beer?"

"Just leave it, I'll get it later," came Hyde's reply, this was more important than beer, "Sit down."

"Oh my God, Steven," Jackie gasped, one hand over her heart, sitting in the chair beside Hyde's. "Are you gonna lie to me? You're finally gonna lie to me, aren't you? I knew you could do it!"

In full Zen mode Hyde stared back at her, "Jackie, I'm not gonna lie to you."

"Why won't you do it?" she demanded to know, sounding both frustrated and heartbroken.

"Cuz I don't wanna lie to you, just like you don't really want me to lie to you…"

"Yes," she quickly interrupted, "Yes, I do, Steven. I want you to lie to me. I'm giving you permission to lie to me. Steven, I'm begging you…"

"Forget it, Jackie," Hyde's tone was firm when he cut her off. "I'm not lying to you. I don't want our relationship to be built on lies. I wanna be honest with you. That way when I say things like this you'll know I'm telling the truth."

One of Jackie's eyebrows arched upwards, "Say things like what?"

"I think Brooke's hot," he said causing Jackie's eyes to flare with rage. "And…"

"The next words out of your mouth better be words that make me happy or I'll kick you in the shins _and_ pinch you," she threatened angrily.

"And I think you're hot," he added, smirking when he saw Jackie's anger lessen. "But the difference between thinking Brooke's hot and your hot is I don't wanna be with Brooke, I wanna be with you. Only you."

When she heard Hyde's words and how they sounded like they were coming straight from his heart, Jackie felt not only her anger fade away but all the insecurities she'd been feeling about not being as hot as Brooke, they were gone too!

"Oh Steven," her hand was back over her heart. "That is so sweet."

"Better than a lie?" he questioned with a smirk.

Jackie smiled and nodded, "Thank you for not lying to me, Steven."

"Anytime, doll."

"So, you wanna drink your beer while I read you articles from my new magazine?" Jackie suggested an idea similar to The Formans'.

"No."

"I'll let you draw mustaches on the models when we're done."

"Okay," Hyde smiled in agreement to the sweetened deal.

Jackie happily clapped her hands and picked up her magazine while Hyde stood up and grabbed his beer before sitting back at the table, ready to listen to the _Vogue_ articles Jackie would read to him.

 **The End**

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all enjoyed this little missing moment oneshot! Thank you once again for stopping by to give it a read :)_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, take care, and have a nice day!_


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